


the night we met.

by pyroallerdyce



Series: captured moments. [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Dinner, Essays, F/M, First Meetings, One Shot Collection, Professor Ben Solo, Short One Shot, Waiters & Waitresses, Wordcount: 1.000-3.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:00:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22264498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyroallerdyce/pseuds/pyroallerdyce
Summary: Ben didn't bother grabbing a menu because he knew it by heart, and he sat down at a table in the far back that was the furthest away from where everyone else in the café was as possible.  He'd just gotten his essays out of his bag and set them on the table when someone approached it, and Ben looked up to see the waitress standing there.She was absolutely beautiful.or:  Ben's a professor at the university and he's gone to the café closest to his apartment to get some dinner and grade some essays.  When he gets there, it's Rey's first day on the job, and her first table happens to be Ben's.
Relationships: Poe Dameron & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: captured moments. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1602691
Comments: 16
Kudos: 93





	the night we met.

**Author's Note:**

> I have this like entire Professor Ben Solo storyline in my head, and I decided that instead of writing some massively long multi-chaptered story, I'd write it out in one-shots. So that's what this is. This is just the beginning and hopefully, you'll want to follow along and read where this goes as I post the next stories. 
> 
> Thanks for the encouragement, Scarlett.
> 
> And as always, if you like what you've read here, please let me know via a comment or a kudos or a bookmark so that I know I'm not writing into a void. Enjoy!

The last thing in the world Ben Solo wanted to do was talk to someone. 

He'd spent all day at the university, giving lectures to kids straight out of high school that thought they had some sort of understanding about the themes of Shakespeare. His office hours had been a constant stream of students in and out, most of them wanting clarification on something about the essay he'd assigned for homework because they had quite clearly not paid attention to his lecture. By the time he was able to leave campus and head home, Ben was almost ready to hand in his resignation letter so he didn't have to deal with kids who obviously shouldn't have signed up for his class.

If they had that many questions after that day's lecture, then this was going to be an incredibly long semester.

He'd barely made it to his car before his phone rang, and when he saw that it was his grandfather, he'd sighed heavily before answering it. Anakin was as cheerful as he ever was, but Ben knew what was coming, and sure enough, soon Anakin was asking whether Ben had thought about applying to law school. Anakin might have been an incredibly successful lawyer, and his father might have been one as well, but that did not mean that Ben wanted to be a lawyer himself. After explaining to his grandfather that he was quite happy being a literature professor for what felt like the nine millionth time, Anakin quickly ended the phone call and hung up.

Somehow, Ben was a disappointment to him when all he really wanted was to be allowed to be his own person. He didn't think he'd ever understand that.

Before he could walk in his building, his phone rang again, this time his mother. Leia had heard about the phone call with Anakin and she wanted Ben to ignore what Anakin had said. If Ben was happiest teaching literature classes at the university, then that was all that mattered. Ben thought it was nice that his mother had taken the time to call and tell him that, but then she started asking if Ben had been on any dates lately, and that just made Ben hang up the phone without saying another word.

He knew his mother was desperate for some grandchildren, but Ben didn't think that was going to be happening any time soon.

He stood in his apartment for all of ten minutes before deciding that he didn't want to cook, and so he gathered up the essays that he'd collected from his students that day and headed back out. All he wanted was some quiet, some good food, and to be left alone.

So he went to Jakku.

Jakku was a small café that was near where he lived and that also meant that it was on the complete other side of town from the university's campus. The chances of Ben running into any of his students were incredibly low, and that was one of the reasons why he liked the place so much. The less interaction Ben had to do with them outside of campus, the better.

The café's owner Poe looked up and waved when Ben walked in. “Just pick any table, Ben. Rey will be over in a minute.”

Ben didn't bother grabbing a menu because he knew it by heart, and he sat down at a table in the far back that was the furthest away from where everyone else in the café was as possible. He'd just gotten his essays out of his bag and set them on the table when someone approached it, and Ben looked up to see the waitress standing there.

She was absolutely beautiful.

Then Ben realized that she was probably also a student, so he immediately shoved that thought to the back of his mind. 

The woman smiled at him nervously as she pulled an order book from her apron, and then Ben noticed that her hands were shaking. “Don't worry,” he said, smiling at her. “I don't bite.”

The woman laughed and what Ben thought was a genuine smile came across her face. “Sorry. First day, first table.”

Ben was struck by a British accent to die for, and he immediately shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind too. She was a student. “I understand. But I meant what I said. I don't bite.”

“That's good to know,” the woman responded. “Can I get you something to drink?”

Ben ordered a cup of coffee and a glass of water, and then picked up the paper on the top of his stack as the woman walked away. He realized that the student had no concept of what the essay should be about by the fourth sentence, and he noted that they quite clearly needed to learn proper grammar. He was just finishing with the second paragraph when the woman came back, setting his drinks down on the table. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” she said. “I didn't introduce myself. I'm Rey. I'll be your server tonight.”

Ben looked away from the essay to smile at her again. “It's nice to meet you then, Rey. I'm Ben.”

Rey smiled back at him. “Do you know what you want to order, Ben?”

Ben ordered his usual before turning back to his essay, and he was just finishing up writing a scathing response on the back of the paper when the chair across from his was pulled out and someone sat down. “Poe, I am not looking for company tonight.”

“Which means that you must really need it,” Poe said, making Ben laugh. “Come on, what happened now?”

“I was asked if I wanted to apply for law school again,” Ben said, reaching for his coffee. “And then my mother wanted to know if I'd been on a date recently. The same old bullshit, basically.”

“Leia seems desperate for a grandchild.”

“You have no idea, Poe. No idea.”

“You should probably find someone to go on a date with though. I can't even begin to imagine how long it's been since you've had sex.”

Ben glared at Poe. “That is none of your concern.”

“I'm just saying that I can't go more than a month without some, and you've clearly gone a lot longer than that,” Poe said, shaking his head. “I don't care about giving your mother grandbabies. I just think that you at least need to go to a bar and find someone to go home with.”

“Can you leave me to eat in peace, please?” Ben asked, and Poe laughed.

“You know that I'm right, Ben. Just admit it.”

“I will admit no such thing,” Ben said, picking up another essay. “Why is it that high schools don't teach proper spelling and grammar? I've barely looked at this and I can already tell it's horribly written.”

“Probably because there are entirely too many teenagers writing out texts and tweets in shorthand to even begin to realize what proper spelling and grammar are,” Poe said, hearing his name called out behind him. “Hey, give me some feedback on Rey before you leave, okay? She's got no experience but she's Finn's friend and she really needed a job, and I am curious how much training I'm going to have to give her.”

Ben nodded as Poe stood up. “I'll let you know.”

“And tip her good.”

Ben looked up at Poe and laughed. “When do I not tip them well?”

“Just saying,” Poe said, laughing as well. “I'll talk to you later, Ben.”

Ben turned his attention back to the essay, immediately checking the name at the top of it before turning it over and writing that they needed to come in for office hours on the back of it. That one wasn't even worth attempting to read. He made it through another four essays before he noticed someone approach, and he looked up to see Rey with a tray in her hands. 

He moved the essays to the side as she reached for the plate, and the tray slipped out of her grasp once she'd picked it up. Ben quickly reached out and grabbed it before it could crash into the table, and Rey set the plate down. “I am so sorry about that. I clearly didn't get the balance right.”

“It's okay, Rey,” Ben said, handing the tray back to her. “It happens.”

“Well, I need it to stop happening immediately. I desperately need this job and I can't lose it.”

“Poe's not going to fire you over something like this,” Ben said seriously. “You'll get the hang of it.”

“Thanks,” Rey said, looking at his drinks. “More coffee?”

“Please,” Ben said, and Rey walked away. She returned a moment later with a coffee pot, and Ben looked up at her as she refilled cup. “So, what are you studying?”

“What?” Rey asked before laughing lightly. “Oh, I'm not a student. I graduated from the university three years ago.”

Ben let the fact that she wasn't a student settle into his mind for a moment before he shoved it to the back of it. “Ah, I see. I was mistaken. My apologies.”

“Do I look like I'm a student?” Rey asked. “I tried really hard to look nicer than that today.”

Ben looked at her for a moment before shaking his head. “No, no, you look fine. I'm just surrounded by students all day and assumed you were one.”

Rey smiled at him. “What do you teach?”

“British literature,” Ben said, picking up his napkin and unrolling the silverware from it. “Though I am currently dreading reading the rest of these essays. So far no one has been able to properly identify the themes in _Macbeth_ , which is troubling.”

“Ah,” Rey said, recognition in her voice. “You're Professor Solo then.”

Ben looked up from his plate. “You know that?”

“Your British literature class is very popular. I tried to take it for twelve consecutive semesters and never was able to get in.”

Ben raised an eyebrow at that. “Twelve consecutive semesters?”

“As I said, your class is very popular,” Rey said. “I'll come back to check on how the food is in a little while. Enjoy, Ben.”

Ben watched her walk away before turning his attention to his food, and by the time that Rey came back, he was reading essays again. “How is everything, Ben?”

“Everything would be much better if my students used spellcheck,” Ben said. “I've never read essays so bad in my life.”

“I'm sorry that you have to suffer through them then,” Rey said. “How is the food?”

Ben set the essay down and took another bite. “It's great as per usual.”

“That's good to hear,” Rey said, looking at his drinks again. “More water?”

“Please.”

Rey walked away and got a pitcher, and when she came back to the table, Ben let himself study her as she refilled his glass. “What did you major in if you wanted to take my class so badly?”

“Art history,” Rey said. “I know, I know, it's a completely useless degree, but I had personal reasons for doing it.”

“No degree is a completely useless degree,” Ben said seriously. “And I think having personal reasons for doing a degree path is better than just choosing one because you think it'll make you the most money.”

“I don't think this degree is ever going to make me any money, hence why I'm waiting tables,” Rey said. “I'll come back and check on you a little later.”

Rey walked away and Ben reached for the essay. He finished his food while he read, made small talk with Rey every time she came to the table, and tried desperately to stop thinking about how goddamn gorgeous she was. 

If Rey had graduated three years ago, then that meant Ben was at least ten years older than her, and therefore, he was entirely too old for her. The thoughts that were invading his brain really needed to stop.

Rey brought the check over around the same time as Ben gave up on the essays. They were so unbelievably bad that he needed whiskey to get through the rest of them. “I hope you enjoyed everything tonight, Ben.”

“I enjoyed everything but those essays,” Ben said. “Thank you, Rey.”

Rey picked up his plate and then dropped her voice low. “Did I do okay?”

“You did great,” Ben said with a smile, and Rey sighed in relief. 

“I just don't want to cost myself the job.”

“Don't worry about that, okay? You did fine.”

Rey gave him a pretty smile. “Then thank you for coming in, Ben. Hopefully, I'll still be working here the next time you come in.”

“I'm sure you will be,” Ben said, and he gathered up his stuff as Rey walked away. 

He snagged the check off the table as he stood up, making his way over to the cash register where Poe was. “She's a little rough around the edges, but that makes perfect sense if she's never done this before. Otherwise, she was great.”

Poe nodded. “I think she'll probably get better really quickly with as much as she's going to be working.”

“You've got her on a lot of shifts?”

“I've got her on full-time,” Poe said, making Ben look at him in surprise.

“What happened to never having full-time waitstaff again?”

“The fact that half the daytime staff quit three days ago and I'm desperate.”

“No wonder you wanted to know how she did,” Ben said, pulling out his wallet and getting out a credit card. “Put it on this.”

Poe took the card from him and began to process the transaction. “I've kind of got a lot riding on her being great at this. Finn told me that hiring her wasn't going to be a mistake and I hope he's right.”

“Well, she was very concerned about you firing her, for what it's worth.”

“Yeah, apparently her last boss threatened her with that a lot,” Poe said, handing Ben his credit card back and setting the receipt on the counter. “Remember what I said about tipping her.”

Ben rolled his eyes as he reached for a pen, quickly filling out the receipt and signing it. “Is that a good enough tip for you?”

Poe picked up the receipt and looked at it, his eyes widening. “That's a twenty-dollar tip, Ben.”

“I know,” Ben said, setting the pen down and grabbing a peppermint. “I'll see you soon, Poe.”

Ben walked out of the café before Poe could say anything else, and as he walked back to his apartment, he couldn't keep himself from thinking about the beautiful girl with the accent to die for that wasn't a student.

But he was still entirely too old for her, so why he was thinking about her like that, Ben didn't know. Still, he hoped that she would be in the café the next time he went in there, if for no other reason than for it to be working out for Poe.

Ben knew there was another reason but he refused to admit it. The last thing he needed was to get hung up on a girl. There was just absolutely no place in his life for that.


End file.
